Sharp blasts 'rubbish' Rovers after mauling by Saints

Hull coach Peter Sharp branded his side's performance a "pile of rubbish" after seeing them slip to their fourth defeat of the season, just a week after demolishing champions St Helens.

Paul Sculthorpe once more showed his class as Saints moved into third place and provided another harsh lesson to Super League new boys Hull KR with an emphatic 42-14 win at Knowsley Road.

The Great Britain skipper marked his first home appearance of the season with a try and four goals in a man-of-the-match performance which echoed his comeback heroics in the World Club Challenge win over Brisbane Broncos.

Sculthorpe started as a substitute but had a major impact during his 45-minute stint as he continued his encouraging recovery from a series of knee injuries.

James Roby, James Graham and Maurie Fa'asavalu also made significant contributions from the bench as the champions found their touch in an eight-try display.

Former Scotland rugby union winger Jon Steel scored just three minutes into his Super League debut to give Hull KR the scent of an upset but Rovers badly missed the organisation of injured captain James Webster and have now conceded 72 points in their last two games.